S&P 500
21.05.2007 01:25:00
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Pfizer Says Research and Development Head John LaMattina Will Retire This Year
Pfizer said today that the President of Pfizer Global Research and
Development, Dr. John LaMattina, who made many important contributions
to the Company’s research division throughout
his 30-year career, will retire from Pfizer by the end of this year. The
company will begin a search both inside and outside the company for his
successor, and Dr. LaMattina has agreed to remain during this period to
ensure a smooth transition.
"Science is at the heart of Pfizer, where
world-class scientists use cutting-edge technologies to find new cures
for diseases that cut short far too many lives,”
said Jeff Kindler, Pfizer’s Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer. "Pfizer now has a
significant array of early- and mid-stage product candidates across a
range of important therapeutic areas, and John has made a critical
contribution to building this foundation. With that in place, John felt
it was the right time to retire as we look to the future and accelerate
the development of our most promising compounds so that they will be
ready for commercialization as rapidly as possible.
"The depth of our pipeline cuts across a broad
range of therapeutic areas, and we have significant new scientific
platforms for viral disease, autoimmune disease, cancer, pain, and
cardiovascular disease, among others. The importance of the medicines in
our pipeline is reflected by the FDA granting priority review for three
of our most recent discoveries – Sutent for
cancer, Chantix for smoking cessation and maraviroc, which, if approved,
would be the first member of a new class of oral HIV medicines in more
than a decade.
"During John’s
tenure we have grown our pipeline in oncology while substantially
increasing our investment in biologics and vaccines, where we see
attractive opportunities to combine our science with new technologies.
Our progress in oncology, which was a relatively small program just 10
years ago, is especially noteworthy, and we are now in an excellent
position to deliver important new cancer medicines. Our latest research
will be highlighted in June at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s
annual meeting where a total of 39 abstracts, including 25 sponsored by
Pfizer, have been accepted for presentation,”
Kindler added.
Pfizer’s research now includes 249 total
programs with new therapies in development for obesity, diabetes,
rheumatoid arthritis, schizophrenia, oncology, liver disease, HIV and
Alzheimer’s disease, among others. To further
enhance the productivity of the R&D organization, Pfizer announced a
series of initiatives at its January 22 analyst meeting, including site
consolidations. There continues to be good progress on executing these
plans, with, for example, a high rate of acceptance by Ann Arbor
colleagues who have been offered the opportunity to relocate to other
Pfizer R&D sites.
Mr. Kindler said that while the company continues to invest in its
internal scientific capability, it will also be very active in pursuing
scientific innovations and new technologies outside the company, and
expanding the company’s collaborations with
world-class research and academic institutions.
"John was instrumental in the March launch of
the Pfizer Incubator, established to fund early-stage development and
technology projects at the Pfizer campus in La Jolla, California, as
well as Pfizer’s wide-ranging collaboration
with the Scripps Research Institute,” said
Kindler. "We intend to make our internal
capability even more effective by tapping into the best scientific
capability outside our walls – wherever it
exists. That’s why we are reaching out to
scientists around the world. And we’ll
continue to focus on making Pfizer the destination of choice for
high-caliber scientists. We look forward with great optimism to what our
scientists will achieve in the years ahead.” "To all my colleagues at Pfizer who have
contributed to our work in fighting disease and advancing medical
science, I offer my thanks for your dedication, talent and commitment to
helping patients around the world,” said John
LaMattina. "We are applying our science and
gaining insights into the human body, genetics and the root causes of
disease that we could not have imagined a decade ago. We have also taken
a series of actions to streamline how we work, improve our productivity
and restock our pipeline. Under Jeff Kindler’s
leadership, we are building on that progress with initiatives that will
simplify our structure even more, consolidate major research programs at
four principal sites and put each of our therapeutic areas under a
single, accountable leader.
"With this strong foundation in place, I
believe that now is the time for a leadership transition, so that we
have the right leader in place to bring our innovative new medicines
forward. I have every confidence that this outstanding organization will
capitalize on all the opportunities now before it,”
he added.
Pfizer also announced that, after a distinguished career in which he
made important contributions, Chief Financial Officer Alan Levin has
resigned to pursue career opportunities outside Pfizer.
"Alan Levin is a world-class financial
executive whose skill, professionalism and strength of character made
him an outstanding Pfizer leader and colleague,”
said David Shedlarz, Vice Chairman. "He
served with distinction in our treasury and finance operations and led
initiatives to make them into Centers of Excellence, bringing a broad
and deep understanding of all aspects of global finance, as well as the
highest degree of integrity, to every assignment. In the last several
years, he played a key role in leveraging our financial strength on
behalf of Pfizer shareholders through our share repurchase program and
enhanced dividend. We are grateful that Alan has agreed to continue in
his position while we conduct a search for a new Chief Financial
Officer, and his commitment to a seamless transition is yet another
example of the dedication to Pfizer that he showed throughout his
career. We thank Alan for all of his contributions and wish him every
success in his future business endeavors.” "I have been fortunate to work with many
outstanding colleagues at this great company,”
said Alan Levin. "Pfizer has grown in ways
that none of us could have imagined, but always with a keen focus on
serving patients and doing everything we can to address unmet medical
needs. My colleagues in Finance, both in the U.S. and around the world,
do an extraordinary job of managing the array of financial issues and
challenges that come with a global corporation of Pfizer’s
size and complexity. I am proud of their dedication and of our many
accomplishments. With a strong finance organization in place, and after
20 years of service with Pfizer, I feel that now is the appropriate time
for me to explore career opportunities outside of the company. I have
the deepest admiration for Pfizer and look forward to its success in the
future.”
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